Three Tails and Three Hearts
by Foxfire13795
Summary: The sole remaining survivor of the Village Hidden in the Black of the Land of Shadow, Sango Kurohyou, grows up in Konoha with, unbeknownst to her, a great darkness dwelling within her.
1. Prologue

Three Tails and Three Hearts ~{Prologue}~

Spiraling down from the angry night sky in magnificent arcs, dips, and loops, embers took flight on a foul wind and scattered themselves across the sky like bloody stars. Borne of the chaos that now tore apart a once proud village, a roaring fire raged across rooftops, inside of houses, and over bridges. Thousands of embers leaped from the red tips of the flames to spread its contagious inferno. One such ember dipped and spiraled lazily down onto the hand of a mother who was fussing over her little girl in front of the few remaining houses that were not burning.

"Ouch!" Ichira bit back a curse as she shook her hand. "Darn sparks. Got me." Ichira rubbed the spot the ember had landed absentmindedly as she turned her head back around to address her three-year old daughter. "I have to go protect the village with the other jonin. Stay here and hide. I'll be back as soon as I can." Ichira smiled warmly at her daughter and hugged her tightly. She stood and gazed upward, then disappeared in a puff of smoke. The girl sniffled and looked skyward searching the skies for her mother. With tears at the corners of her eyes, she stumbled forward and ran into the streets.

Ichira leaped down from the rooftop to land beside a fallen ninja. "Ichira..." The lost soul whispered gently. He reached out and took ahold of Ichira's hand as if needing the warmth of something full of life to sustain him. "Shush, don't waste your strength...I'll find a medical ninja." Ichira gently pulled her hand to her, but the fallen ninja gripped it with astonishing strength. "No..! I'm done for, but you...you must help the others...protect the village...please..." Ichira nodded solemnly to the dying ninja. This seemed to set him at peace. The lost soul relinquished his hold on Ichira's hand and his tenuous hold on life as he did so.

Ichira breathed deeply. She crossed the man's hands on his chest and shut his eyes. He could have been asleep. Ichira knew better. Screams and shouts for helped sounded from farther down the street. Ichira's head jerked up at the sounds. She had a duty to fufill. Ichira dashed down the street following the crimson glow that danced malevolently along the doors, windows, walls, and fences. Embers, sparks and cinders spiraled down in their wicked waltz landing upon the ninja already gone from this world.

Diving into the battlefield without any hesitation whatsoever, Ichira arrived to witness a titanic duel unfold before her. The Kurokage fought off the demon that had come to ravage their village on top of Ryoshi, the great hunter wolf. The demon and the Kurokage battled hundreds of feet above Ichira's head. The village was under attack. One attack was purely chance while the other... "Ichira-san!" Ichira sighted her childhood friend up ahead. Ichira came to a stop in front of her. "Suzu-chan!" Ichira clapped her exhaughsted friend on the back. Suzu pushed Ichira's arm aside and spoke in gasping breaths.

"So glad...you're here! Things are awful! We've lost...so many ninja...already! Where's...your daughter?"

"She's safe, but I had to help protect the village. It's my duty as a kunoichi of the Village Hidden in the Black."

"I see...we need you over...in the war zone...those Leaf ninja keep coming!"

Ichira nodded to Suzu. "Stay here and rest." With that, she took off into the blazing night. Ninja clashed on her left and her right. Ichira supported where she could and moved on where she could not. She was taking a break from the battle to catch her breath when her comrades began dying next to her. Ichira sprang to her feet and glanced around for the latest threat. A Leaf ANBU agent stood among the corpses of her comrades. Ichira snarled and charged the ANBU. "Ninja Art: Black Shroud!" Ichira's jutsu activated engulfing the ANBU in absolute darkness.

Ichira made another series of hand signs. "Ninja Art: Hunter's Sight." The darkness of the shroud lifted and Ichira perceived the enemy clearly within the darkness, seeing the heat that emanated from all living things. She drew out a kunai and silently made her way toward her target. The ANBU merely stood still. When Ichira drew near, she circled the ANBU a few times, growing comfortable with her invisibility. She stopped in front of the ANBU and lifted her Kunai into the air. She brought it down toward the ANBU's neck seeking a quick decapitation.

Suddenly, the ANBU sprang to life and caught Ichira's arm with his own and rammed his katana through her. Ichira gasped at the pain. The ANBU slowly withdrew his katana and set Ichira down on the ground carefully as her jutsu dissipated. More ANBU appeared beside the one. They nodded to each other and moved on through the burning village.

Above the battlefield, the Kurokage's duel with the demon was coming to an end. Using the Reaper Death Seal, a jutsu the Village Hidden in the Black had stolen from the Leaf, he sealed away the demon. The demon spirit searched for a host momentarily in the form of a wisp until diving down into an anonymous part of the village. Leaf ninja quickly overran the village and began to hunt down any survivors to ensure the extinction of this village.

Meanwhile, in the forest surrounding the village, a little girl wandered. She sniffled and called out for her mother. Finally, despair overtook the child and she curled up in the gnarled roots of a tree. Hours passed and the destruction of the girl's village was complete. The Leaf ninja were returning to their home. One such ninja was doing exactly that, when he stumbled upon the girl nestled in the roots of a tree. He was an ANBU. His mask was in the likeness of a dog. He wore the standard ANBU uniform. The only thing standing out was his jet black hair that spiked out. The ANBU had heard strange sounds and had decided to investigate. Much to his surprise, he had found a little girl, crying in her sleep.

The ANBU knew his duty though. This girl was no doubt a survivor of the destroyed village. They'd been told to kill everyone. He hesitated for only a moment. The ANBU moved over to the girl and scooped her up into his arms. She did not stir. She was lost deeply in troubled sleep. The ANBU stared down at the little girl in his arms. He held her close to him, feeling her latch on to him unconsciously, drawn to his body heat. The ANBU moved into the treetops, quickly catching up to his squad, who had waited for him. They immediately cast empty-eyed glares at the girl in his arms. Their glares moved to the ANBU, who ignored them and continued onward. One of the squad hurried and caught up to him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Taking this girl back to the Leaf."

"We were supposed to kill all residents, including the children."

"I am aware."

"Why are you disobeying orders?!"

"Because killing this child would be a grave mistake."

"Explain."

"My report is for the Hokage alone."

"...Very well."

The ANBU raced through the black forest on this black night. Black was the color of the blood-stained ground in the village. Black were the shadows that taunted ninja. Black were the scars carved into the ground by tooth and claw. And Black was the name of the sole survivor. Kurohyou.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_"Woof! Woof! Woof! Wake up! Wake up!"_

Sango Kurohyou peeked out from under her pillow and glared at the abominable alarm clock that had dared to wake her up. She growled and tossed her pillow at the clock, making it and the pillow tumble off of the nightstand and crash to the floor. Stretching luxuriously, Sango sat up from bed and glanced over to the window beside her bed. A sleepy smile spread over her face as the sunlight blinded her.

"Eh-heh. Shiny…" she mumbled.

Sango stared out of the window for a moment until her eyes adjusted to the harsh morning light. The bright, beautiful, blue sky greeted her. Her grin widened even further. "Such a pretty sky…" Sango glanced over to the clock on the floor, her vision still a little blurry from sleep. Slowly, she was able to make out the numbers blinking on the clock: 8:15 A.M. A sense of urgency pierced through the fog of Sango's muddled mind. It hit her suddenly.

"AH! I'm late!"

Sango bounded out of her bed and threw on her clothes, snatching up her headband as she bolted into the kitchen. Tying the headband around her neck in her usual particular fashion, Sango snagged a bread roll out of the pastry basket that she kept on the table in case of emergencies such as this. She stuffed it into her mouth as she raced out of the door, grabbing her gear and tools on the way out. She hopped onto the railing on the balcony outside of her door, gauging the distance between her perch and the nearest rooftop. She leaped across the gap, landing neatly on her target roof. Sango then sprinted for the meeting place, sending some of her chakra down to her feet for stability as she ran.

"Aw…" Sango sniffled through the bread, "I'm so late…"

Sango took a moment to cram the rest of the bread roll down her throat as fast as she could without choking. Breakfast of champions. Sango's philosophy was to never miss breakfast – no matter how measly it might be. As her sensei has taught her, it was important to eat a healthy breakfast every day. That…and always eat her vegetables.

Gloom soured Sango's usually cheerful countenance at the thought of her sensei. He was going to be so very disappointed in her for being late. Not that this would really be a change of pace. Sango drew closer to her destination until she finally managed to arrive, leaping down onto the street below. She glanced around anxiously for her sensei but found no sign of him.

"Huh…?"

Sango made certain and double-checked the area for her sensei, but he remained ever elusive. "Am I too late? Maybe he left to try to find me! Or worse…he got tired of waiting and just left!" With a groan of self-loathing, Sango plopped down onto a bench. She determined that she would wait right in this spot in case he returned. Settling in to make herself more comfortable, Sango basked in the pleasant, warm glow of the morning sun. Her eyelids began to droop imperceptibly as the young kunoichi became increasingly drowsy.

"Ah! No…can't sleep…fading…"

Sango sat up and yawned, rubbing her eyes. Not good. She needed to do something to keep her awake! She was growing drowsy again. "Stupid, warm, comfortable sun," she muttered under her breath. Sango bounced to her feet and began stretching, pumping her arms, and doing whatever she could to energize herself. It would keep her alert, and a good workout always got her pumped for whatever missions that her sensei deigned to send her out on.

"Aren't we bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning?" commented a familiar voice behind Sango.

"AHHHHhhh….so…good to see you, sensei," Sango half-shouted, half-whispered in a decrescendo as she whirled around to face her sensei, gripping her chest. She had thought that her heart had stopped for a second. In all likelihood, it probably had in that singular moment of abject terror. Sheepishly, Sango smiled up at her silver-haired sensei with a look on her face akin to that of a guilty puppy.

"Um, sorry that I'm late…again. The position of the sun and the moon…and the shininess…I…Forgive me!"

Sango nearly keeled over trying to make the deepest bow possible to her sensei. The kunoichi heard the exasperated sigh and a soft chuckle that marked her sensei's acceptance of her apology. Snapping back up to stand erect once more, Sango looked at her sensei with wide eyes of anticipation.

"So…? What's the mission today? What did you call me out for? Are we gonna hunt down Mr. Mittens again? Or walk Mrs. Takabuchi's humongous dog again? Last time was fun! He really likes minesweeping!"

The unbridled enthusiasm that Sango displayed was characteristic of the young kunoichi. Many would call her easily excitable. Sango preferred the term, "ready and willing". Her sensei looked off into the middle distance and rubbed the back of his head as he thought of how to phrase his answer so that Sango wouldn't spontaneously combust when he tried to brief her on the mission. At least, that's what Sango assumed he was doing.

"Well…actually…we are to escort an affluent merchant and his caravan to the Land of Rivers. I've asked Guy and Kurenai, and they gave permission for Lee and Shino to accompany us. Since we're not a full squad."

The news was met with disbelief at first. Sango had never been assigned on a mission outside of the village before. That was not to say that she had no field experience before. Orochimaru's invasion of the Konoha had provided ample learning opportunities, but most of the missions following the invasion involved the repair of the Konoha. It didn't help matters that Sango had been a year behind most of the other genin at the time. After the invasion, Sasuke had left the village to study under Orochimaru. That had left an opening in a particular sensei's squad. When Sakura and Naruto weren't off with Tsunade and Jiraiya, Squad 7 actually had some opportunities to work as a cohesive unit again.

Unfortunately, Naruto had left with Jiraiya on a long training adventure to return who knew when. Sakura was also kept constantly busy by Lady Tsunade, so that left Sango without much in the way of teammates. To have a chance to go out on a mission like this, let alone with a full squad was mind-boggling to Sango. Maybe she would finally get a chance to try out some new jutsu in combat!

"That sounds…amazing! When do we head out, Kakashi-sensei?"

"As soon as you've packed your things. Lee and Shino will meet us by the front gates."

"Alright! Gotta go get ready! See you soon, Kakashi-sensei!" Sango said with cheer as she bounced away, heading back toward her house to pack her things. As anxious as she had been to see the world beyond the village, Sango had somehow miraculously managed to keep it in check until the right moment came. That moment was now. She was beyond ready. Grinning from ear to ear, Sango soared over the rooftops.

"Whoohoo!"


End file.
